Valve



Feb. 16, 1960 A, o. BATES 2,925,095

VALVE Original Filed Nov. 25, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l i), J7 INVENToR. jg' i L-4^J^- ,407ml uf BY 2 m, ZM #wm Feb. 16, 1960 l A, Q BATES 2,925,095

VALVE Original Filed Nov. 25, 1954 V 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENToR. fg. 6 j?. 7 /Ffa/ 05726 BY fam?, da y f-m VALVE Alfred O. Bates, Cleveland Heights, Ohio Original application November 23, 1954, `Serial No. 470.923. Divided and this application February 16, 1956, Serial No. 566,049

3 Claims. (Cl. 137-625.43)

This invention relates to values generally and more particularly it relates to an improved type of selector valve for directional control of fluids under pressure. This application is a division of my co-pending application Serial No. 470,923 tiled November 23, 1954, now

abandoned.

Conventional selector values for directional control of fluids under pressure are plagued with persistent problerns of relatively high turning torque and leakage. The

nited States PatentO fluids. However, these attempts have generally not been satisfactory and it is a principal objective of this invention to eliminate these problems and to assure smooth and easy valving of fluids over a wide range of high operating pressures.

A more specific object of this invention relates to `the provision of a rotary selector valve construction for directinal control of fluid under pressure which will have a relatively low turning torque.

An additional specific object of this invention is the provision of seals for selector valves of the type indicated wherein the sealing action improves as the pressure increases. t

A still further specific` object of this invention is the provision of a directional selector valve for high-pressure fluids which will have a minimum of operative parts which are pressure loaded in operation to provide minimum wear and long life.

Briefly, the foregoing objectives are attained in accordance with this invention by providing a ported valve body having an internal valve chamber within which a valving selector disc is rotatably supported on a shaft that extends externally and is provided with a positioning handle. Blind holesare provided opposite the ports in the valve body to apply the liuid pressure to both sides of the valving disc thereby equalizing the pressure on either side of the disc so that it floats freely within the value chamber to eliminate the necessity.for thrust members of any kind. As a result, the turning torque required to position the disc is materially reduced and is relatively independent of the uid pressure. The valve assembly also utilizes pressure seals which include sealing rings that are designed to effectively eliminate cross leakage within the valve body regardless of the lluid pressure or its direction of flow. These and other improved features will become more apparent in the accompanying `drawings and detailed description.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a top view of a four-wayrotary selector valve having an open center;v

2,925,095 Patented Feb. 16, 1960 Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the lines 2-2 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view taken along the lines 3--3 in Fig. 2 of the drawings;

Fig. 4 is a view taken along the lines 4-4 in Fig. 3 of the drawings and illustrating in partial Section the torsion spring housing for the handle;

Fig. 5 is a detailed section View of one of the sealing rings otherwise shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a face view of the valving disc;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the valving disc taken along the lines 7--7 in Fig. 6; while Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are diagrammatic illustrations of the flow conditions of the valving disc when the handle is positioned respectively in the positions indicated on the top panel in Fig. 1 of the drawings; and

Figs. l1 and 12 are enlarged partial sectional views of the internal pressure sealing within the valve during flow and of the external pressure sealing within the valve during no flow respectively.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, there is shown a four-way, rotary selector valve having an open center for the directional ilow control of uids under high pressure. The assembly includes a valve body 10 having four symmetrically arranged through ports designated generally A, B, C and D and each of which are internally threaded to receive connecting conduits in the exemplary manner shown by the cross-sectional View of Fig. 2 of the drawings. The assembly also includes a valve cap 12 which is separated from the valve body 10 when assembled by an annular spacer member 14 whose central opening forms a valve chamber common to all of the ports in the valve body 10. A circular gate or valving disc 16 having a plurality of through axial passageways, l through 6, 17 and 19 adapted for selective alignment with the. ports A, B, C and D in the valve body 10 and including transverse passageways 7, 8 and 9 in the plane of the disc for establishing communication between the axial passageways is supported on a suitable shaft within the valve chamber for rotation into dierent operative positions, as will hereinafter be more fully described.

ln order to eliminate the necessity for thrust members of any kind, the valve cap 12 is provided with a plurality fo blind holes A', B', C and D which are positioned exactly opposite and are of the same size as the ported openings A, B, C and D in the valve body 10. When lluid under pressure passes from any of the ported openings A, B, C or D into any of the aligned passageways 1 through 6 of the valving disc 16, the iluid is conducted to both sides of the valving disc 16 to equalize the i'luid pressures acting against the disc in a manner which practically permits the valvingdisc 16 to oat freely within the valve chamber. The lloating support for the valving disc 16 within thevalve chamber not only eliminates the need` for thrust members, but also reduces greatly the amount of turning torque required on the handle to rotate the disc within the chamber. This greatly reduced turning torque is available at all operating pressures, since the pressure balancing of the valving disc 16 renders its rotation independent of the uid pressure. As

body 10 can be made of high tensile bronze as for air, t

gas, fuel or water or of high tensile steel as for oil or petroleum service. Similarly, the valving disc 16 is preferably made of hardened stainless steel and the matching internal faces of the valve body and cap are preferably i ...2,925,095 a I -hardfchrome F.plated with tthe bearing surfaces `lapped at ndwsrnooth toaid in minimizing the interportlealgaege while the valve disc is turning.

rOne end of the shaft extends through the valve cap iwhllethe' other :end extends .into .a Seat24 in rheinternal face of the valve body 1S. Axially spaced annular grooves i216 .and 2.8 are machined `into :the shaft ,1:3 to support suitable O rings on either side of-thevalve chambei'. Ayenttl .extends .from the valve seat ..24 through Lthe external gwallfthe' `valvebody `lil to .provide a pressure relief for any pressure that .may build up within the seat. ,The external end of the `shaft carries a suitable handle 32 to permit manual rotation of the valving disc 16 in a manner to be hereinafter more fully described.

In thepreferred form shown -in Figs. land 2, the valve cap 12 supports a V.sprill .housing 36y which encloses a -pair .Qf oilfternpered torsion springs 3S arid lll acting in opposition to leach other toV automatically return the handle togthefncutralor Oil position. One end of each of the torsionsprings is engaged .by a suitable pin 'F391andf4fl respectively carried by the spring housing 36. ..Th'e tether extremity .of each of the torsion springs is bent outwardly .-to lextend .and engage opposite sides of aV depending pin 3d carried by the handle 32. ,'Ihus, if

thehandle is turned -in either direction, it works against the corresponding torsion spring loading and is automatically Areturned yto the neutral position when released .by theoperator. This arrangement provides a convenient .handle centering device which may, if desired, be replaced with vconventilal ball and detent stops for each of the respective Vvalve positions. The directional ow inforlmation may .be suitably indicated on the panel plate 42 `aflixedto-.the top face of the cap Vl?. which,'together with fa pointer on the handle .and numbered detent stops if used, :serve .to .completely indicate the condition of 'flow throughV the valve.

Referring again Vto Fig. 2 of the drawings, it will be `seenthat the linterior extremity of thev ported openings lA, B, C and 1D in the valve body lll and the blind holes A', 1B', C Vand D in the valve cap l2 each carry VsuitfableV vsealing rings 46 provided with external annular grooves 43 in which are seated 0 rings 5t) of synthetic rubber or `the'lilie which effectively eliminate cross .leakage lwithin Vthe valve.' Each sealing ring assembly also lincludes a suitable back-up ring in the form of a wave spring 52 acting in a direction to urge the sealing rings -into sealing Contact against the valve selector `disc i6.

fReferring now more particularly `to the enlarged views 'inv Figs. Vlil land l2 of the drawings, it will be seen that thesealing'rings 46 -not only prevent leakage through Atheircoactionfwith the G-rings but they/are also designed 'so thatthere is a greater area presented to the fluid pres- 'sure on the bottomlsurface El than on the exposed undercut portion 53 of the face adjacent the valving disc. With "this construction the seals are always forced against `the face of the valving disc 16 when duid is being transferred through the valve and, as the pressure in the system increases `'the *seals are held in tighter contact with the valving disc due to the slight-pressure unbalance acting on the seal as diagrammatically Yshown by the directional larrows in Figs. ll and vl2. Y

The same pressure .unbalanceacts against the sealing Yrings when the ports are `closed and the pressure exists only 'in the disc cavity. This is accomplished by providing Vanother differential in thersealing ring areas which Thus, the undercut portion 5d on the disc side of the sealing 'ring and the over-hanging shoulder 55 coact respectively with the bottom surface 51 and the mating undercut corner 57 or the valve body il@ to produce the same 4'pressure loading of the seals against the Valving tliscwhether the :pressure is in the port as shown in Fig. vll '.0'1l in the .valve chamber as shown in Fig. l2, thereby `prodli'cing 1.a Ydouble lseal under allconditions to reduce ''theiposisibility ,Off leakage. Foroptimum sealing, inweach .are exposed to the back pressure from the disc cavity.

`openings in Fig. 7 of `the drawings.

.are Ashown in solid lines.

4 case, the r1active differential Vloading v`area of the sealing ringshould preferably be substantially the same when the pressure is in the port and when it is in the disc cavity. Similarly, the differential loading area in each case should preferably not be less than one-half the contact area of the seal; `in which case the additional loading of the Wave sprihngnSZY will maintain the seal regardless of the pressure. iln lFigs. 1l and l2, assuming that the space between theportand the sleeve is negligible, the ctive differential area when pressure is in the port is the difference between the area of the .surface 51 andl the area of the Iundercut surface, while .theactve .differential area .when Vthe .pressure .is Vinthe discfcavity Visthe area of the portion yofYtheishoulfder Whichever# hangs the undercut corner 57 of the valve body 10. The" contact area of lthe seal Ais 4the raised marginal surface" of the sealing ring which engages the disc 16. The

additional loading of the spring should preferably bei Asufcientto,increase thesealing force Ato ,equal .what would- .besupplied ,by .a pressurized area ofvapproximately 157.5%

of thecontact .areagofthe seal. .In operationtheseals are' so .effective -that Veven .a [complete A,fall ,off .of pressure, -or'f `application of back .pressure .willnot unseat -t'he seals.

Returning now to Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings, fit twill .be .seen that the ,axially .disposed through passageways lthrough d, 417 and 19 are circumferentially spaced from Veach otheraround the .disc vltand ina symmetrical pattern Aaboutthe axis of rotation. These passageways are so .loca-tedv that the seals in thecap l2 are always in Acomrnunication rwith their respective seals .in .thevalve Vbody .110 and the disc .16 is always pressurebalanced. vIn

.the embodiment ,of the disc shown in Figs. 6 and -7 of .the drawings, additional ,passageway/s 19 and 17 .are provided .to assure .that the seals yon .both `sides of the .disc v'aresubject to pressure at all times regardless of the i vposition ofl the disc 1.6 `in .the cavity. The transverse passagewaysl 8 .and 9'inthe plane of the .disc 16 are represented .by dotted linesV in Fig. v6 and -by solid line' This -valving disc i6 is merely exemplary of various types that may be .utilizedin conjunction with the ported valve .body 10 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings and results in the conditions of ow .diagrammatically illustrated in Figs.'

it through'l() where only the communicating passageways Thus, Fig. ,8 represents the dow condition vwhen .the handle'32 is turned tothe left and Vthe pointer 35 is aligned .with the indicator numeral L to establish pressure at the port A While connecting the port B to exhaust at C. Fig. 9, Yon lthe othe'rhand,V represents the. `flow condition when the lhandlel -32 nenti-ally positioned with :the indicating pointer atthe Off marking to isolate. both ports A and B from the fluid pressure while connecting the pressure supply D `directif. tothe exhaust C. ln Fig. l0, thehandle'SZhasr been turned to the right to a position where the pointerV 3S isaligned with the indicatornumeral R to establish' iiow condition where the fluid pressureis applied to the portB while the port :A is loo nnt-:cted to exhaust C.

lvi'anydifferent types of directional arrangements may" be provided such as a twoway shut-off, a threeway or` a four-way selector yand others each witheitherside or bottornportrlg GfA the valve body `and each with anap- Y propriate selectorvalving disc which .can be positioned by means of the shaft l@ to control the direction of flow or shutoff in any type of high pressure installation. These yalveshave been constructed for u seover a wide variety otpressure ranges up to as high as 6G00 psi. with smooth er y v alving and extremely low turning torque. 'Evidence ci 'the extremely low turning torque required resides -in the `fait that the Yhandle 32 on a valving assembly designed lfor aone inch 6G() p.sr.i. valve is only six inches in length. Theresultantrotary selector valve assembly l pass dirt-,filled uids without diculty lbecause of the minimunrclearances between the mating partslwhichrprevents dirt froml Igetting 'between the bearing surfaces and the pressure balancing of the selector valving disc eliminates entirely any need for thrust members while at the same time permitting improved ease of operation throughout the entire range of operating pressures. The pressure seals provide a double seal which is effective regardless of flow direction and which increases in effectiveness as the fluid pressure increases. The extremely simple design and construction wherein none of the operative parts, except the seals, are pressure loaded assures long, satisfactory, troublefree service with little up-keep and very low maintenance cost.

I have shown and described what I consider to be the preferred embodiment of my invention along with suggestions of modified forms and, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art, that other changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of my invention as dened by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a valve body having an enclosed valve chamber and a communicating fluid passageway with a movable gate member in the chamber, a seal comprising, a sleeve loosely disposed in the passageway, means spaced axially along the passageway from the valve chamber and forming a seat for the sleeve, resilient means coacting between the seat and the sleeve to urge the sleeve axially towards the valve chamber, an external peripheral groove on said sleeve forming raised peripheral shoulders at each end, a resilient annular sealing member seated in said groove and having a cross-sectional dimension less than the axial length of the groove, the end surface of said sleeve adjacent the valve chamber having an axial projecting flange at its external periphery adapted to continually seat against the gate member, said flange extending radially beyond the outer extremity of said peripheral groove, the remaining portion of said end surface being spaced inward axially therefrom and being of lesser dimension than the other end surface of the sleeve, said differential dimension between the respective end surfaces of the sleeve coacting with the resilient means and the annular resilient sealing member to urge said sleeve against the gate member to maintain a fluid tight seal between the passageway and the valve chamber during the flow of fluid through the passageway, said flange including a pressure loading surface facing in a direction generally opposite to that of the gate engaging end surface of said sleeve, said pressure loading surface extending 4radially beyond the outer extremity of said groove intermediate said groove and said gate engaging end surface of said sleeve and adapted for coaction with complementary surface means on said valve body generally adjacent said gate member to establish a pressure differential and maintain a fluid-tight seal between the valve chamber and the passageway when the valve is closed and fluid pressure exists in the valve body chamber, the active differential loading area of said sleeve being substantially the same whether the fluid pressure is in the passageways or in the valve body chamber, said active diferential loading area on said sleeve being at least one half the magnitude of said gate engaging end surface of said sleeve, said resilient means having a bias suflicient to increase the contact pressure of the sleeve against the gate member by an amount supplied by a pressure area of at least half of the contact area of the sleeve with the gate member.

2. In a selector valve assembly having a valve body with fluid passageways adapted for selective communication through an internal valve chamber under control of a movable gate member therein, a fluid passageway seal comprising a sleeve seated in each respective passageway, said sleeve having an external peripheral groove, an annular resilient sealing member seated in. said groove for sealing relation between the exterior of said sleeve and the respective passageway, the end surface of said sleeve adjacent said internal valve chamber having an undercut portion forming an axially projecting peripheral annular flange on said sleeve, said flange providing a generally axially facing end surface adapted to seat in sealing relation against a confronting surface of said gate member within the valve chamber, said flange end surface extending generally radially beyond the outer extremity of such peripheral groove, the other end surface of said sleeve being adapted to be exposed to fluid pressure in the corresponding passageway and presenting a greater surface to the fluid pressure than said undercut portion to provide a unidirectional pressure differential acting to maintain said flange end surface against said gate member when the gate member is open to admit duid through said passageways, resilient means coacting between said other end surface of said sleeve and an abutment surface in the respective passageway to continuously urge said sleeve toward said gate member and thus supplement said unidirectional pressure differential, said resilient means having a bias suflicient to increase the contact pressure of said sleeve against said gate member by an amount supplied by a pressure area of at least one half of the contact area of the gate engaging end surface of said flange, said flange including a generally radially extending pressure loading surface disposed radially outwardly of said peripheral groove and intermediate said peripheral groove and said gate engaging end surface of said flange, said pressure loading surface facing in a direction generally opposite to said gate engaging end surface of said flange and adapted for coaction with a complementary confronting surface in the valve body to provide a pressure differential urging said sleeve against said gate member when the gate member is closed and fluid pressure exists in the valve body chamber.

3. In a valve in accordance with claim 1 wherein said surface means on said valve body includes a rabbeted edge around the respective passageway at the end. adjacent said gate member, said flange extending radially into comparal tively loose overlapping relation with said rabbeted edge to form said pressure loading surface on said flange for maintaining a sealed relation between the respective passageway andthe valve chamber when there is no fluid flowing through the passageway.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,519,574 Holl Aug. 22, 1950 2,603,449 `Overholser July l5, 1952 2,653,003 Overbeke Sept. 22, 1953 2,688,981 Greer Sept. 14, 1954 2,696,219 Barksdale Dec. 7, 1954 2,796,230 Grove June 18, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 655,077 Great Britain July 1l, 1951 655,078 Great Britain Iluly l1. 1951 

